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Fish are preserved through such traditional methods as drying, smoking, and salting. [1] A whole potato, sliced pieces (right), and dried sliced pieces (left), 1943. Food drying is a method of food preservation in which food is dried (dehydrated or desiccated). Drying inhibits the growth of bacteria, yeasts, and mold through the removal of water.
Sugar is used as the humectant for candied intermediate moisture fruits, and salt is used for intermediate moisture vegetables and fish. [3] Additionally, a mixture of humectants can be formulated to manipulate the sensory properties of the food product. [2] Osmotic drying using a humectant results in a soft texture in the final product. [2]
Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed, either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to the fourth millennium BC in Mesopotamia , and is prized because of its sweet taste, nutritive value ...
Many processes designed to preserve food involve more than one food preservation method. Preserving fruit by turning it into jam, for example, involves boiling (to reduce the fruit's moisture content and to kill bacteria, etc.), sugaring (to prevent their re-growth) and sealing within an airtight jar (to prevent recontamination).
Fruits can also be spread out, dried and cut into stripes in its puree form without the addition of sugar or fats with at least 50% moisture content as fruit leather, (see patent listed under the references section) [12] [13] or as a powder by spray or drum drying.
Osmotic dehydration is an operation used for the partial removal of water from plant tissues by immersion in a hypertonic solution. Sugar or salt solutions are used to reduce the moisture content of foods before actual drying process. This technique is used to give the product quality improvement over conventional drying process.
The water content of food is usually very high, typically 80–95% for various fruits and vegetables and 50–75% for various meats. Removing moisture from food restrains various bacteria from growing and spoiling food, as well as dramatically reducing the weight and often the volume of the food, making it easier to store.
Vegetables are blanched before drying to avoid rapid darkening, and drying is not only carried out to inhibit microbial growth, but also to avoid browning during storage. Concerning dried fruits, the reduction of moisture acts in combination with its acid and sugar contents to provide protection against microbial growth.